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My Friend May
CCBC Review:
May, a big black cat, and Margaux, a Cree child, have grown up together. May likes “playing in the long grass behind the house” but is “unsure of oranges.” May loves Margaux. She also tends to stay near their home, always returning by dinnertime when she does venture out. But one day she doesn’t come home by dinner, and although everyone searches for May, she’s nowhere to be found. Margaux’s auntie Nitôsis helps in the hunt before packing up the last of her things for a move to the city. As Nitôsis unpacks in her new home, she worries about Margaux and May and misses them both. An unexpected “meow” leads her to the bathroom, where she discovers May tucked inside an unpacked box. After offering a quick meal of canned salmon, Nitôsis delivers May to a grateful and relieved Margaux. “May was a cat who decided that, maybe, the best place to get lost was in the long grass behind the house, with her friend.” Author-illustrator Julie Flett offers a note to readers encouraging them to tell their own stories, followed by written explanations and charts of Cree words in the book and how to pronounce them. ©2026 Cooperative Children’s Book Center
Illustrated by Julie Flett
CCBC Age Recommendation: 3-7
Age Range:
Babies/Toddlers (birth – 3)
PreK-Early Elementary (Ages 4-7)
Format:
Picture book
Subjects:
Animals (Fiction)
Aunts
Cree People
First/Native Nations
Lost and Found
Pets
Diversity subject:
Indigenous
Publisher:
Greystone
Publish Year: 2025
Pages: 36
ISBN: 9781778401718
CCBC Location: Picture Book, Flett